Employment Law Case Study

John and Garry own a restaurant located in the heart of Sydney CBD. New Year's Eve is approaching and they are preparing the roster. The only really busy day in Christmas/New Year Period is New Year's Eve. Spencer is the Executive chef, and he does not like working with Rita, the Sous chef. He has provided negative feedback about Rita to John and Garry. Spencer makes life difficult for Rita in the kitchen, not ordering all the ingredients for her section, keeping her section short of staff, and yelling at her in front of other staff when she or another member of her team makes any mistake. Spencer has suggested to John and Garry to hire a male Sous chef as he believes that male chefs fit in kitchen teams better than female chefs do. Stephan, the Head chef, has asked for his annual leave for the Christmas/New Year period. Stephan has accumulated 8 weeks of annual leave. He requested this leave from John and Garry at the beginning of the year and he has been filling in for other staff when they were on leave. He assumed that his leave was granted and planned and booked to take his whole family overseas to attend his sister's wedding. However, Stephan's request for leave was formally denied two weeks before Christmas. He was told that it was the busiest time of the year for the business and he was needed because Spencer and Rita are not working well together. Stephan told both John and Garry that he has already committed to his travel plans and that he will be taking his leave regardless. John told Stephan that if he takes the leave, his employment will be automatically terminated. John and Garry are considering terminating Amanda's employment as she is expecting her first child and they did not want to pay her maternity leave and worry about the need to reorganize staff to accommodate for her situation. They were thinking of restructuring the organization and make Amanda's front-of-house position redundant. Gemma, an international Commercial Cookery student, is a casual kitchen hand but sometimes has the responsibilities of a Commis Chef. Gemma requested she gets paid cash in hand as this is her second job and she is legally allowed to work only 20 hours per week on her student visa. Gemma complains that the other kitchen hands get paid more than her and yet she has been working longer than the others and is given the responsibility to supervise the other kitchen hands. John and Garry have done nothing about Gemma's complaint.

Yasmin, a young waitress, is a Muslim. She is very hardworking and customers compliment her on her cheerful smile and positive attitude. She has been in low spirits recently because the kitchen staff are making fun of her for wearing her hijab. She has not had the courage to approach John and Garry or Amanda - her line manager.

Questions (provide sources of reference based on Australian Government law regulation)

1. List the relevant legislation for Employment Law.
2. What are the main responsibilities John and Garry have under the employment law?
3. What should John and Garry include in an employment agreement they have with the staff?
4. List and describe the actual and potential breaches of employment law that were presented in this case study.
5. List and describe the different types of discrimination, harassment, and bullying recognized by the employment law.
6. Is there any discrimination, harassment, or bullying in this case study? Explain your answer and support your assertions.
7. a) What is the appropriate procedure to follow when terminating an employee's employment? b) What situations (or potential situations) in this case study, if any, may contravene the legal procedures for terminating staff?
8. a) In regards to requesting and granting leave: What are Stephan's rights as an employee? b) What are John and Garry's rights as employers? c) If John and Garry came to you and asked for your advice after Stephan indicated that he was going to complain, what advice would you give them?
9. a) List the government organizations that support both employers and employees with employment law matters? b) Which staff members in this case study could go to one of these organizations? c) Can Gemma seek any support from these organisations or from the union?